If a single moment could sum up the car crash that is St George Illawarra’s season, it is Kade Reed’s first major involvement in the NRL.
It came early in proceedings, while the final notes of The Last Post – and the boos that greeted the introduction of Kyle Flanagan as the players ran out – were reverberating around Allianz Stadium.
The Dragons put up an attacking kick, regathered possession, and flung the ball out to the man of the moment. There was the debutant – Reed by name, reed-like in stature – with the footy in his hands on the game’s biggest stage. The newbie surveyed a scattered defence, took a microsecond to calculate the best course of action, and then threw a 35-metre spiral pass. At the end of the parabola was his winger, Matt Feagai, who ran onto the Steeden, collected it on his chest and duly planted it down.
Every single fan – Dragon, Rooster or casual – was on their feet. They had arrived on Anzac Day to witness something special. Perhaps it was the dawn of a new Dragons era under Dean Young. Or the moment that a fresh face takes the first step towards greatness. Maybe even the biggest upset of the season.
And for a few, fleeting moments, all of the above was possible. The underdogs were up, Reed had left his mark and there weren’t even five minutes on the game clock.
And then the bunker intervened.
The man upstairs (correctly) identified the tiniest of knock-ons in the lead up from Tyrell Sloan. The red button was depressed. NO TRY. A capacity crowd of 40,381, out of their seats as one, sat back down.
And that’s as good as it got for Kade Reed and his Dragons.
It was the second time the video referee intervened to deny Reed. As the clock wound down, the diminutive No.7 crossed for a try under the posts … only for the referee to pull it up for an obstruction in the lead up. Somehow, on a day when everything that could go wrong did, it seemed appropriate.
Young, however, had seen enough to guarantee Reed his position after next week’s bye.
“Kade will be our halfback against the Newcastle Knights,” Young said.
When Manly sacked their coach, there was an immediate sugar hit. But there has been no Foran-esque response from the Red V. The departure of coach Shane Flanagan, and a couple of his loyal lieutenants, resulted in no discernable improvement from the NRL’s worst team. On club football’s biggest day, they showed there is further yet to fall.
In a side so thoroughly dismantled – the disjointed venture let in 11 tries and twice had players in the sin bin – it’s difficult to provide a meaningful appraisal of the new halfback.
Reed was playing behind a pack that was forward in name only. The Dragons had little ball and often turned it over. There was a small bright spot when Reed earned a repeat set with an attacking kick. Perhaps emboldened, he put through another a minute later … on the third tackle.
It was also hard work without the ball. Roosters back-rower Siua Wong locked in on him like an Exocet missile. Reed finished the game with 10 tackles and six misses. After missing both Robert Toia and Mark Nawaqanitawase in the one sequence to allow the latter to score, Reed kicked the corner post in disgust. When the full-time siren sounded, Reed’s Fantasy Footy score, courtesy of the NRL website, was five.
It was a sombre mood in the Dragons sheds afterwards.
“The first thing I did was ask them how they are feeling,” Young said. “I’ve got a group of players that are embarrassed by the performance they tossed up today ... I was certainly expecting a better performance than we showed.
“At the moment, we’re playing the opposition - and we’re playing the Dragons as well. We’re putting ourselves under far too much pressure.”
This was truly a game of two halves. Sam Walker picked up a third Ashton Collier Spirit of Anzac Medal for best on ground, and a record personal haul of 26 points, courtesy of two tries and nine conversions.
The Dragons’ woes run deep. There is no magic bullet. Not in the form of Dean Young, Kade Reed or even Scott Drinkwater. After this, all three of them must be wondering what they just signed up for.